Page 14 of Wrangle Me, Cowboys

She huffed and puffed for a minute, but when Waylon stepped up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder, she shut her mouth and glared. Sawyer reclaimed his spot at my other side, this time setting a hand on my shoulder like Waylon had. Holden stepped up on Waylon’s other side, and we all faced Lidia together, an impenetrable wall of stepsiblingly love. If that was a thing.

“She stays,” Waylon said.

Lidia nodded, her mouth tight. “You’re going to regret this. Mark my words.”

“They won’t,” I assured her. “I’m not going to do a single thing that could get me into trouble. Before you know it, I’ll be gone, and you’ll all go on like I was never here at all.”

“The first I hear about you in town, I’m coming right back up here,” she said. “You can either come live with me, or go on home to New York and your own mother can figure out what to do with you besides saddling someone else with your behavior. You’ll be her problem then. And don’t you go thinking I’ve forgotten you’re up here. I’ll be keeping an eye out, be keeping my ears open for any gossip. You can’t hide anything in a place this small. If anything happens, I’ll hear about it.”

For some reason, I was sure she wasn’t just talking about getting tipsy. It was weird, because in New York, there were people all around me all the time. On the sidewalk, in stores and clubs and restaurants, even in our building, where people lived above and below us. Here, it seemed there was nothing but space, endless stretches of open land that went on for miles, and yet, I felt more watched, more claustrophobic.

In New York, no one really cared about anyone else’s business unless you literally murdered someone. Or, apparently, if you threw eggs at a spoiled rich boy and his car. But that was beside the point.

In Wyoming, it seemed everyone wanted to know exactly what I was doing at all times, and they all wanted to pass judgment. They’d go out of their way to find me and check on what I was doing, which was totally weird to me. I was used to people who were so busy that if I passed out on the sidewalk, they’d just walk around me…if that.

“I’m sure you’ll be the first to hear every tidbit of gossip that happens in this county,” Sawyer said. “And we appreciate your concern, Ma, but we’re grown men and we can take care of ourselves, and between the three of us, probably one teenage girl, too.”

“But you’re welcome to drop in for a visit anytime,” Holden hurried to add. “We love having you, Mama.”

With one last suspicious once-over, she turned to walk back to her car. Holden jogged to join her.

“I think I better go lie down, after all,” I said.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Sawyer said. “Can’t have you going after anyone else with a pitchfork.”

“You jerk,” I said, punching his arm. “You’re the one who gave me that third glass of wine. And you know the pitchfork was an accident.”

“I think we were all hoping you’d at least skewer her foot,” he said with a wink.

“Yeah, because then she’d be bedridden, and I’d have to wait on her as penance.”

“Let me walk you in,” Waylon said, nodding at the house. “Make sure you get there in one piece.”

I shot Sawyer a pleading look over my shoulder, but he didn’t seem concerned that his mean brother was leading me away. I guessed that was shitty—Waylon had saved me on more than one occasion. But while the others had warmed up to me, he’d been more surly as the days went on.

“Thanks for taking my side,” I said. “Even if it was just to nettle your mom.”

He grunted in response.

“I know you just want me here so your dad will send you a check,” I said. “But I meant what I said. You won’t even know I’m here.”

“We’ll know you’re here,” he growled, shooting me a dark look.

“Sorry, I’m not a magician, I can’t just make myself disappear. If I was, I’d send myself back in time and undo that stupid arrest.”

I felt cheap, somehow, and humiliated that I’d thought it was something more than it was. A job. To save their precious ranch. I should have known. He was all business. The ranch came first. No wonder he hadn’t liked my idea about renting out the four cabins that sat empty behind the house. He knew they had money coming their way if they kept me under lock and key.

But I was sick of being locked up. Charlie had practically put me in a museum. I wasn’t going to let anyone else do that to me. I would have my run of the ranch, even if I had to avoid my stepbrothers during the few hours in the evening when they were downstairs. We always ate dinner together, but otherwise, I often didn’t see them for most of the day.

When we reached my room, I stumbled in and threw myself face down on the bed. I expected the door to close behind me, but it didn’t. After a minute, I felt my boots being tugged off.

“I know you’d rather Sawyer have walked you up,” Waylon said flatly. “I thought it would be best for our mother not to see one of us take a special interest in you.”

“You think Sawyer takes a special interest in me?” I blurted out. Then I winced, thinking I probably should have said I didn’t like Sawyer more. I didn’t. It was just that Waylon could be a little…unpredictable. And scary.

“We all take an interest in you,” he said, setting my boots under the edge of the bed. “And I’m not trying to make you disappear. But it’s impossible not to know you’re in here, in this bedroom, every night. Your presence permeates the house. It’s impossible not to feel a woman in our house when we all go to bed alone.”

And with that, he strode out of the room and closed the door.